Consumption of tea, particularly green tea, has increasingly been associated with therapeutic benefits in the areas of cardiovascular health and cancer prevention. These and other health benefits have been attributed to the unoxidized flavanols in green tea, i.e. the catechin monomers. As a result of these health benefits, there has been a substantial increase in the number of entrants of tea containing beverages into the ready-to-drink beverage market. Currently, many tea containing beverages are sold in the form of bottled, canned or carton-boxed products. Many of the beverages contain black tea extract with fruit juice, fruit aroma or fruit flavors, while others contain only tea flavors. When black tea is used in beverages, many of the published health benefits of the unoxidized flavanols (green tea catechins) are not realized by the consumer because black tea contains oxidized, polymerized flavanols. While certain beverage products contain green tea extract, these beverages generally contain a relatively low level of the beneficial catechins and typically do not contain a significant level of polyvalent mineral cations. The beverages also typically have a brown color or contain natural or artificial colorants to mask the brown color, or the beverages have a turbid appearance. There are not any green tea-containing beverages currently on the market that possess the combination of a relatively high level of catechins, one or more polyvalent mineral cations, and a relatively high degree of clarity (i.e. low turbidity). Therefore, there is a need for such green tea-containing beverages.
It is an object of this invention to provide compositions that contain significant levels of green tea catechins and one or more polyvalent mineral cations, wherein such compositions, when prepared in a final beverage form, are relatively clear. In one particular embodiment, the final beverage has a low level of brown color such that the appearance of the beverage is not typical of tea, but rather is similar to water.